Greenwich Police Warn Of Telephone Scams Following Recent Incidents

Some residents in Long Island and Queens have been the target of a phone scam. (credit: CBS 2)

GREENWICH, Conn. (CBSNewYork) – Telephone scam artists targeted a Greenwich, Conn. resident for the second time in weeks, police announced.

But as WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau reported, the would-be scammers were outwitted by the woman they picked to prey on.

The rip-off ruse is nothing new, Schneidau reported. The scam artist targets a well-to-do elderly woman, calls her on the phone and either he or a stand-in poses as her grandson.

Greenwich Police Warn Of Telephone Scams Following Recent Incidents

Usually, the imposter grandson claims he’s out of country and in a jam.

In this latest scam, Greenwich police said the victim received a call from someone posing as her grandson telling her he was in an auto accident and needed bail money. The aim is to have the unsuspecting target wire money.

But the scam artist’s big mistake was that he did not address the elderly woman by the endearing term always used by her grandson.

Police said the woman realized what was going on, quickly hung up the phone and called her grandson to confirm he was safe.

She then called the police to report the scam.

Police said this woman did the right thing and as a result, the scammers wound up empty-handed.

A similar case was reported to police in mid-July. The woman targeted in that case also refused to wire money to the would-be scammers.

Police said demands for money immediately

After the first incident, Greenwich police posted tips on its website to protect against such scams:

• It is best not to respond to text messages or missed calls that come from numbers you don’t recognize.
• Do not give your personal, credit card or online account details over the phone unless you made the call and the phone number came from a trusted source.
• Do not open suspicious or unsolicited emails (spam): delete them.
• Do not click on any links in a spam email or open any files attached to them.
• NEVER reply to a spam email or SMS (even to unsubscribe).